Aizawl: At least 351 people, including 46 women, have lost their lives in Mizoram due to drug abuse over the past five years, state Excise and Narcotics Minister Lalnghinghlova Hmar informed the assembly on Wednesday.
Responding to a question by opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) member K Laldawngliana, the minister said that between 2020 and August 8 this year, 78 people died of heroin abuse, while 273 others succumbed to multiple drug use. The victims were aged between 19 and 57 years.
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The highest number of deaths was reported in 2023 with 76 fatalities, followed by 67 each in 2020 and 2024. From January to August 8 this year alone, 51 people, including seven women, have died of drug abuse, he added.
Among the state’s 11 districts, Aizawl reported the highest number of deaths at 274, followed by Lunglei with 69 and Champhai, bordering Myanmar, with 58. Hnahthial recorded the lowest with just one case.
During the same period, the Excise and Narcotics Department seized narcotics worth Rs 152.43 crore, including 212.98 kg of heroin, 568.99 kg of methamphetamine, and 1,566.66 kg of ganja. A total of 4,400 people were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Hmar said.
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On Tuesday, Home Minister K Sapdanga announced that the state police, in coordination with the Excise Department and the Young Mizo Association (YMA), will launch an intensified anti-drug campaign. He warned that drug smugglers and addicts often commit thefts and other crimes, posing a threat to society.
Mizoram has long grappled with drug abuse and trafficking due to its proximity to Myanmar, with which it shares a 510-km porous border. According to police data, 185 Myanmar nationals were arrested for drug smuggling between 2020 and May 2025.
Chief Minister Lalduhoma has previously linked the inflow of narcotics to Mizoram’s closeness to the “Golden Triangle” — a region spanning northeastern Myanmar, northwestern Thailand, and northern Laos, infamous for drug production and trafficking.